Julius a



@nimi gaat @anni @fllt f Jlllil US A. PRESTON, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNEC'llCU' Laders Patent 1Y0. 59,245, dated Sfptember Z-i, `1867.

IMPROVED GOAL-BARGE.

TO WHOM I'I' MAY CONOERN:

Be it known that I, JULHIS A1 PRESTON, of New Haven, in the countyoi` New Haven, and State ofvConnecteu'r, haveinyented certain new and useful-improvements in Burgos lfor the Transportation of Coal and other substances; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, el boing had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view ofhabarge constructed in accordance with my invention, and

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of" the same.

The object of niyinvention is principally to render the labor and'expensc which ordinarily attend the transfer or handling of the cargo of a coal-barge or other boat used for analogous purposes. In ordinary barges the receptacle for the coal, ore, or other substance is located in the hohl et' the vessel, and when `the same is to be unloaded it must be by means of buckets, which are lowered into the hold, filled by hand, and then drawn up andl emptied, rl'his operation is necessarily tedious and costly, for the laborers employed to fill the buckets work slowly, and the cost of'thcir hire is one of the most considerable items of' expense which attends the shipment and handling of such cargoes, and which adds so much to the prime cost of the coal or ore.

Another object I have in view is to construct the barge and receptacle for the eealor other article carried by such barge so that the/'cargo shall be placed out of the reach of the water which usually enters the hold of the barge, either by leakage or by reason of the wash of the sca, and so that any water which may'chance to enter the receptacle where the cargo is stored will be at once drained of?, leaving the cargo dry.

To this end my invention consists, first, in forming the betteln of the receptacle or compartment where the cargo is stored, so that itshall incline orgconverge towards a central well or opening, provided with valves or gates which are opened and shut by suitable means. When it is desired to remove the coal from the barge, these gates are opencd,vand the coal, by reason of the inclined or sloping bottom of the compartment, then runs ear, and exact description oi the saine, reference by its own gravity through the gates and falls into one or more buckets previously placed in the well. As soon as these buckets are lled the gates or valves leading to the well are closed, and the buckets are hoisted out, emptied, and returned to their place to be again filled. It will thus be seen that the buckets are filled automatically and at a great saving of labor and expense. i

My invention also consists in placing the compartment or receptacle for the cargo above the body or hull of the barge, the latter being securely decked over so as to in eil'eet constitute a water-tight compartment,

'which supports and buoys the receptacle for the ca'rg-o, and 'prevents the cargo from being injured bythe water,

which in ordinary barges is apt to enter the hold of the vessel, as above explained. In order to drainoff any water which, when there is a high sea, may be washed in formed ieading from the lowest point of the sloping bottoni of' the receptacle to.the outside of the'vessel, through which the water passes oii1 and is discharged. This method of construct-ing the barges adapts them especially for lusc on large rivers or bays, o1' in the coasting trade, where, at times, water is rough, and the waves are such as to render the employment of ordinary barges impracticable and it also admits oi a greater load being transported than can be done by an ordinary barge of the salnefdimensions. I

'lo enable those skilled in the art to understand and use my inv manner in which the saine is' or may be carried into'eifcct by reference to the accompanyingr drawings.

A represents the body or hull of the barge, and B the compartment where the cargo is stored. For the reasons above given,tl1e coiupartinent'B is placed above the body of the'barge, which, as shown in the drawings, is decked over so as to be completely water-tight if need be. any suitable manner, and extend up to any desired height. The receptacle, as shown in thedrawings, is divided into two parts, euch provided with a well or opening a in its centre. lhis well extends down into the hold of the vessel, below the level of' the floor or bott-om of the coal-receptacle, land is continued up above the bottom b by means of a box or frame c, the top of which is about on a level with the top of the receptacle. A Aseries of openings, d, is formed in the side of thisV frame, at or near the bottom of the receptacle, which are opened and closed by means of valves or gates f, which slide up and. down between ways g, formed in the interior of the box. The bottom or floor of the receptacle is constructed so as to converge or slope toward these openings d. forming, as it were, a hopper, which, when the gatesf are open, feeds the coal to thel bucket placed in the ention, I will now proceed to describe the The sides ofthe receptacle B are formed in to the receptacle for the cargo, channels or gutters arewell. 'lhe highest part of the floor is nearest the sides of the receptacle, and it thence slopes downwards to the openings d. Now, supposing the receptacle B to be iilled with coal, and the gatesf open, the coal will by its own gravity run through the openings UZ and till the bucket h, placed in the well, as shown in red lines in iig. 2. As soon'as the bucket is filled the gatesf are closed, and the bucket hoisted out by suitable means and replaced by another. The whole operation of filling the buckets is thus rendered automatic. The arrangement yof the well a and of the floor of' the coalreceptaole may be greatly varied without departing from the principles of my invention. There may be as many wells as desired, depending upon the size and capacity of' the barge, or the well may extend continuously from one end to the other of theI receptacle, the Hoor' upon each side sloping towards it in such manner that when the gatesor valvesf are open the coal shall be forced forward by its own gravity through the ports d. The wells, when not in use, can be closed by covers K, as shown in igs. 1 and 2. In order to drain off the Water which mayat times enter the receptacle, I form channels Zin the barge, which lead from the lowest point of the oor to the' exterior `of the v'essel, as seen clearly in fig. 2. Thus the water in the compartment flowing downward over the sloping bottom reaches at last the channels Z, through which .it passes until it is discharged from the vessel. Theil/nation of these channels can of course be varied as circumstances may-require. l i

Having now described my invention, and the manner in which it is or may be carried intoeil'ect, what I claim, and desire `to secure by Letters Patent is- I l l. The combination, in a coal-,barge or other similar vessel with a freight-receptacle or compartment having an inclined or sloping bottom, as described, of a well, and suitablel means for opening and closing the same, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

2. The combination, in a compartment as described, ofthe well or opening, with its surrounding frame and valves or gates for regulating the ilow of the coal or other freight into the said well, substantially as herein shown and specified.

3. The combination, with the freight-compartment or receptacle and its inclined bottom, of one or more channels for drawing off the water from said compartment, substantially as herein set forth.

4. A barge for transporting coal and other freight, in which `the compartment for receiving such freight is combined with the body or hull of the barge, substantially as herein shown and for the purposes seti'oi'th.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification before twe subscribing witnesses.

JULIUS A. PRESTON.

Witnesses:

JOHN E. -EARLE, A. J. TIBBITS. 

